MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
It's only been a couple of years since the FDA approved the sale of over-the-counter birth control pills available without a prescription. A new study published today in JAMA Network Open shows this change has had a significant impact on women's ability to control their reproductive choices. NPR's Katia Riddle reports.
KATIA RIDDLE, BYLINE: Other countries have been allowing people to buy birth control without a prescription for years. The U.S. just approved it in 2023. Maria Rodriguez is with Oregon Health and Sciences University. She led the study.
MARIA RODRIGUEZ: So I was really excited to just look and see what kind of a difference this was making for both individual health but also kind of public health more broadly.
RIDDLE: Results underscored a pent-up demand for birth control pills, a nearly 32-percentage-point increase in people who started using the pill after not using any contraception at all. It was especially helpful for people who live in rural areas and are uninsured.
RODRIGUEZ: What we found was that the over-the-counter pill was being used by populations that weren't able to get in to get the contraception they wanted any other way.
RIDDLE: There's lots of research that shows the majority of people think contraception should be legal and accessible. This study reinforces that. Kimi Chernoby is with the National Women's Law Center.
KIMI CHERNOBY: It's not often that we get such clear data about the effects of a policy change.
RIDDLE: The Trump administration has moved recently to restrict access to birth control through things like cuts to Medicaid and Title X. That's a publicly funded program that supplies contraception to low-income people.
CHERNOBY: With the government either restricting access to birth control or restricting insurance coverage or funding for birth control, it becomes more and more important for people to be able to access birth control on their own.
RIDDLE: There's currently only one kind of pill for sale over the counter, called the Opill. Unlike other kinds of oral contraception, it uses only progesterone to control fertility. Some advocates are hoping for other future options as well. Dana Singiser is with the group Contraception Access Initiative.
DANA SINGISER: While having Opill over the counter is historic and important, and this study shows the potential impact for increasing availability, it still leaves more than 90% of birth control pill users out of the equation.
RIDDLE: That's because many people prefer birth control pills that use both progesterone and estrogen. Both kinds are effective but have different side effects. Singiser says the more contraception options women have, the better. Katia Riddle, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.